SSB 5501 - H COMM AMD ADOPTED 4-11-91

By Committee on Fisheries & Wildlife

Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:

"NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The fishing capacity of the non-treaty salmon industry in the state of Washington may exceed that required to harvest non-treaty salmon allocations. This overcapacity can negatively impact the economic stability of the salmon fishing industry and in some instances impedes orderly fisheries. The legislature finds that it is in the best interest of the long term economic stability of the salmon industry to determine the optimum number of commercial salmon licenses that should be available.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. The director of the department of fisheries shall, in close cooperation with the salmon fishing industry, investigate the requirements for issuance, retention, and transfer of commercial salmon licenses, shall determine the optimum number of such licenses for each existing gear type and licensing area, and shall determine the best means for attaining that optimum number. The director shall, in making this determination, consider the impacts of all non-treaty fisheries on weak stocks of salmon including those originating in Hood Canal. The director shall also consider possible environmental factors contributing to the declining fishery in Hood Canal. The director shall specifically evaluate the following issues in Hood Canal:

(1) Whether commercial salmon fisheries in Hood Canal should be restricted to certain areas;

(2) Whether guidelines pertaining to depth of nets and distance from the shoreline for vessels or skiffs are necessary; and

(3) Whether more effective methods of minimizing incidental catch in Hood Canal of blackmouth during commercial net fisheries and of coho salmon during the chum salmon fishery are needed.

Based on this evaluation, the director shall determine whether fishing regulations for Hood Canal commercial salmon fisheries should be modified, and how to minimize environmental damage to the bottom and aquatic plant life of Hood Canal.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. The director of the department of fisheries shall, in determining the number of licenses that should be issued, consider the impact of commercial incidental catch of fish on the recreational fishery. The director shall evaluate the need for a study for observing and documenting incidental catch of fish in non-treaty commercial fisheries. If a study is determined to be necessary, the director shall develop a study plan for observing and documenting incidental catch. The director shall initiate discussions with tribal representatives concerning evaluation of the incidental catch in tribal fisheries. The department shall present its findings and recommendations under sections 2 and 3 of this act to the legislature on or before December 1, 1991.

The director shall invite members of the house fisheries and wildlife committee and the senate committee on environment and natural resources to attend meetings in which these recommendations are being developed."

EFFECT: The director of the Department of Fisheries is required to investigate the requirements for issuance, retention, and transfer of commercial salmon licenses, to determine the optimum number of such licenses for each gear type and licensing area, and to determine the best means of achieving that optimum number. The director is to consider the impacts of all non-treaty fisheries on weak stocks of salmon including those originating in Hood Canal. The director is to evaluate environmental factors that may cause a decline in the Hood Canal fishery. The director is required to evaluate the following issues in Hood Canal: whether commercial salmon fisheries in Hood Canal should be restricted to certain areas, whether guidelines pertaining to depth of nets and distance from the shoreline for vessels or skiffs are necesssary, how to minimize environmental damage to the bottom and aquatic plant life of Hood Canal; and effective methods of minimizing bycatch in Hood Canal of blackmouth in commercial net fisheries and of coho salmon in chum salmon fisheries, and is to evaluate whether Hood Canal commercial fishing regulations should be modified.

The director shall consider incidental catch impacts on fisheries in determining the optimum number of commercial salmon fishing licenses that should be issued. The director shall evaluate the need for a study, and, if needed, develop a study plan, to document the incidental catch of fish in commercial fisheries. The director will initiate discussions with tribal representatives concerning evaluation of incidental catch in tribal fisheries. The department shall present its findings and recommendations to the legislature on or before December 1, 1991.

The director shall invite members of the house fisheries and wildlife committee and senate environment and natural resources committee to attend relevant meetings as these recommendations are being developed.